Projects
at a Glance

Selected Projects

Bathurst Quay Neighborhood Air Quality Study

Research Objectives

Evaluation on the impacts of transportation-related emissions from Billy Bishop airport and nearby highway on air pollution in local communities

Partnerships

Academic partners: Prof. M. Hatzopoulou, Prof. G. Evans, Prof. J. Brook, Prof. J. Siegel, and Prof. A. Chan from the University of Toronto

Project partners: Bathurst Quay Neighborhood Association, City of Toronto, Toronto Public Health, Ports Toronto

Funding Sources

NSERC Alliance grant

Trainees

Emily Farrar, Weaam Jaafar, Junshi Xu, etc.

Bathurst Quay Neighbourhood Association (BQNA)

Air Quality Coordination for Construction Hubs

Research Objectives

Understand the impact of construction activities and machinery on air emissions and air quality ; Engage with the local community and assess exposure of residents at representative homes  

Partnerships

Academic partners: Southern Ontario Centre for Atmospheric Aerosol Research (SOCAAR), Transportation and Air Quality Research Group (TRAQ) and Prof. J. Brook from the University of Toronto

Project partners: City of Toronto

Funding Sources

City of Toronto

Trainees

Weaam Jaafar, Emily Farrar, Junshi Xu, etc.

A construction site close to Yonge and Eglinton intersection

Air Quality Impacts of Fracking and Environmental Justice

Research Objectives

Generate modelled air pollution concentrations to study the impact of hydraulic fracturing on rural communities in northeastern British Columbia, Canada  

Partnerships

Academic partners:  Prof. M. Hatzopoulou, Prof. H. MacLean at the University of Toronto

Funding Sources

XSeed Grant 

Trainees

Miranda Doris, Jad Zalzal 

Source: Vancouver Sun

Decarbonizing the University of Toronto Community

Research Objectives

Decarbonizing the University of Toronto community: How can we enable more sustainable and equitable personal choices across the three campuses?

Partnerships

Academic partners Investigators from three UofT initiatives (Mobility Network, Positive Zero, and Mobilizing Justice) and three UofT campuses (St. George, Mississauga, and Scarborough)

Funding Sources

Climate Positive Energy and Climate Positive Campus

Real-world interventions

Urban Scanner Project

Research Objectives

Urban Scanner is an integrated platform that provides high-resolution spatiotemporal air quality information within urban environments. It collects and combines a variety of information such as air pollution concentration, a 3D map of the city, traffic conditions, micro-weather patterns, etc.

Partnerships

Project partners: Scentroid Inc.

Funding Sources

Natural Sciences and Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Engage Grant, Health Effects Institute (HEI) grant

Trainees

Junshi Xu, Arman Ganji, Mingqian Zhang, Keni Mallinen, An Wang, etc. 

A mobile measurement platform Urban Scanner

Traffic, Air Quality, and Environmental Justice

Research Objectives

Disparities in exposure to traffic-related air pollution have been widely reported, while little work has been done to simultaneously assess the impact of vehicle types on populations of different socioeconomic/ethnic backgrounds. In this study, we employed a machine learning approach to spatially distribute light-duty vehicle and heavy-duty truck emissions across the city of Toronto from 2006 to 2020. We examined associations between these emissions and different marginalization indices across this time span.

Partnerships

Academic partners Transportation and Air Quality Research Group (TRAQ) from the University of Toronto

Funding Sources

Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) of Canada

Trainees

Jad Zalzal, Sara Torbatian, An Wang, Junshi Xu, etc.

Associations between emissions and marginalization indices

Traffic Emission Prediction Scheme (TEPS)

Research Objectives

Predicting road traffic volume and on-road emissions in urban areas, using traffic count data to predict periodic and annual volumes as well as GHG emissions at the level of each roadway for various years

Partnerships

Academic partners Transportation and Air Quality Research Group (TRAQ) from the University of Toronto

Principal Investigators

Dr. A. Ganji (Senior Research Associate) and Prof. M. Hatzopoulou

Website

https://teps.ca/

A spatial map of estimated NOx emissions using traffic count data

Assessing the Air Quality Benefits of Freight Fleet Electrification

Research Objectives

Model the reduced greenhouse gas (GHG) and air pollutant emissions and related population exposure that might be achieved through increased adoption of zero emission trucks to carry commercial goods in the Greater Toronto Hamilton Region (GTHA).

Partnerships

Project partners: Transportation and Air Quality Research Group (TRAQ) from the University of Toronto; Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC)

Funding Sources

ECCC

Trainees

Sara Torbatian

Spatial distribution of daily averaged simulated Black Carbon (BC) concentrations (μg/m3) under the a)base case condition and b)electrification of heavy-duty truck scenario

Air Quality and Health Impacts of Freight Trucks

Research Objectives

Investigation on the effects of diesel commercial vehicles on air quality and population health and the social benefits of greening freight movements

Partnerships

Academic partners: Prof. M. Hatzopoulou, Prof. M. Roorda, and Prof. D. Posen from the University of Toronto

Funding Sources

Natural Sciences and Research Council of Canada (NSERC) Discovery Accelerator grant

Trainees

Laura Minet

Social costs and benefits of diesel commercial vehicles

Health Impacts of Greenhouse Gas Reduction

Research Objectives

Development of a framework of estimating the impacts of greenhouse gas reduction on population health in Quebec

Partnerships

Project partners:  Transportation and Air Quality Research Group (TRAQ) from the University of Toronto; Prof. A. Smargiassi from the University of Montreal

Project partners: Ministère de l’Environnement et de la Lutte contre les changements climatiques (MELCC)

Funding Sources

MELCC

Trainees

Shayamila Gamage, Sara Torbatian, Arman Ganji, Jad Zalal, Shoma Yamanouchi, Liu Ying, etc.

A framework evaluating health impacts of greenhouse gas reductions